Tongue-switch heel.



J. G. HARTLEY.

TONGUE SWITCH HEEL. 7

APPLICATION FILED mac. 10, I914.

1,158,685. Patented NOV.2,1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET l.

COLUMBIA FLANOORAPH C0.,WASHIND1 ON. D c.

J. G. HARTLEY.

TONGUE SWITCH HEEL.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. I0. 1914.

Patented Nov. 2, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

A'I I'ORNEY cuLuMBlA PLANOORAPH c0..WAsH|NflTON, D. c.

J H GREENWA D HAR SF, or PEILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA- mus-hes,

Specification of Letters Patent.

PatentedNov. 2, 1915.

Applieation'filed December 10, 1814. Serial No. 876,397.

To all whomz't may concern:

Be it known that I", Jornt GREENWALD Hnnrnn'r, a citizen of the United Statemre siding at 2505. South Nineteenth street, Phil:- adelphia, in the county of Philadelphia State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Tongueegwitch Heel;

of which the following-a specification. I

My invention relates tbis'witches for street use, having a tbngue swinging about a def pending heel as a pivot and finding their greatestntility in cross-overs: and sidings for steam road use.

One purpose of my invention is: to protect the parts from moisture and dirt.

A further purpose/of my invention is 10: be free from the necessity of adjustment. of the. joint, avoiding the objectionable side. box res. quired for this adjustment.

A further purpose oii my invention isto increase. the number of wearing surfaces: at the heel of the switch and change the dis tribution of. these. surfaces A further purpose. of my invention. is. to

utilize the slight dropping of the: heel by reason of wear to automatically tighten recenter the heel pin;

A further purposeol invention is: to give the heel pin internal as well as external bearing surface and to" fill the: space between with oil for lubrication;

A further purpose oii. my invention isto; use a depending bearing plug within a hollow depending heel for additional lateral support andibearing surface, preferably giving the plug a'taper so'thatit'has a tendency to center the: parts; as weargof thehorizontal contact surfaces: allows the heel to settle lower in the switch body.

A further purpose of my invention is to utilize atmospheric pressure as, a means of restraining the tongue and heel against displacement. r

A further purpose of my invention is to: provide an extended bearing surface a; horizontal plane outside of the heel'pin and about it as'nearly on a level with the rail;

flange as possible to support against tipping,

strains.

A further purpose of invention is to place oil in the upper part of the opening ofa hollow heel pin and distribute the oil tothe bearing outwardly from this interiorpoint; preferably maintaining a pool of oil at this point above'the adjoining switch body parts to flow throughout the joint and replace o-il losses therein.

' A further purpose of my invention is to expel; oil from a point within the interior of a hollow tongue switch heelin such a direction or in such quantity as to drive out a considerable part if not all the air between .the parts and seal the joint Wit oil.

A further purpose of my invention is to provideannular oil reserve spaces within a switch heel joint andprefe-rably protected from intrusion of foreign matter as a reserve. in connection with an oil lubricating system sealing against admission of air or moisture or both to the joint preferably covering the tongue bed,

A further purpose of my invention is to provide lifting connections for the tongue and heel at a point such that the weight of the tongue on one side of this point shall balance the weight of the tongue and the heel on the oppositeside thereof, plus the effective atmospheric resistance to withdrawal of the heel and to provide lifting mechanism for the tongue and heel at this point.

I have preferred to illustrate my invention by but one of the various forms which will occur to switch designers in view of my disclosures herein, selecting one which has proved to be practicable and efficient and which at the same time well illustrates the principles of my invention.

Figure l is a top plan view of a switch body, tongue and heel embodying the preferred form of my invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged top plan view of a part of Fig. l with the tongue in a different position from that shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the tongue and heel shown in Figs. 1

' erence. indicate like parts.

The tongue switch constructions at present in use, to the best. of my knowledge, all utilize some form of tightening device for the pivot. This requires a side take-up for the heel socket and, in practice, is accom plished. by placing. a wedge oi-{other like mechanism in body.

The switch'tongu'e heel'pinunu'st be acces-' sible for cleaning at intervals, varymg from a few days to several weeks, and must be removed each time 1t, 1s cleaned. For tlns reason, the box 'in' which the tightening V mechanism is located must be readily accessible and the socket within the switch body must be loosened for removal of-the tongue larly to present a superior heel joint which requires no adjustment of any character and hence avoids the use of sucha box, Iann also toreduce the need and hence the frequency of removal of the tongue and heel for cleaning, and to simplify the removal when it does become desirable.

The body 1 shown is of the manganese steel type, cast in one piece, cooperating I with the 'usualfiller block 2 and rails a The tongue switch bed 4, within which the tongue 5 swings, is the same as in previous constructions and I have made no variation whatever in the surface of the tongue engaged by the wheels. 7 I'have shown the bed 4 as laterally extended at intervals, as at 6, to give access for a crow bar, if required, and as affording intermediate side surfaces 7 to support the tongue against-the thrust of the car wheels. V

I prefer to construct the depending tongue heel inthe form shown in Fig. 4. For convenience of manufacture of the seat or socket within which the heel of my tongue switch turns, 1 have inserted a separate manganese steel pin 8 within the preferably cy lindrical bore 9 of the body, welding the pin in at 10 after it has been finished to the size desired. This permits me to grind the parts of thepin more conveniently before insertion than I could if this pin structure were integral with the body and also allows a different steel to be used for the pin if desired. It will be'recognized that this separation of parts during manufacture is a mere convenience and 1s not a part of my invention. 1

The heel pin 11 is given a reentrant surto im-' face for greater bearing support and A prove the oil seal against air inlet. It is formed as a depending open-ended cylinder,

or approximate cylinder. lVhile I showthe' a box at the side of the switch r sides as of substantially uniform diameter,

some taper would not affect the principle of my ylnvention. Any considerable" taper would make the fit loose with but slight lifting of the tongue heel pin'in the body.

This would lose' some of 'the advantages of my invention, though other features invented by "me would still be present. The outer .surface '12 is preferably a close fit in the in- "teriorbore' 9 of the switch'body at this point and the bottom 13 of -the hollow tongue heel i pin may have bearing upon the surface 1a of thepin 8.

The interior of the dependinghollow pin is shownas having two difierent diameters at 115 and 16 to cooperate with correspondingly different exterior surfaces '17 and 18 upon. the body pin. To allow for possible verticalmovement because of wear, the lower edge 19 of the surfac'e15 does not engage the upper edge 20 of the surface 18." For-con venience in manufacture and fitting,'and so that the grinding of thesurface ofsmaller diameter need not be carried up against the corner, an annular space 21 is left at this point. Obviously, other annular spaces such as 22 may be left between adjoining surfaces inthe same parts-wherever desired. In conjunction with the oil filleriwhich I use these annular pockets may have another useful function more fully. pointed out later. They may be omitted where their 1 functions are not required or desired orv are otherwise secured. i

The variation indiameters of the upper and lower inner surfaces of the depending tongueswitch heel just describedis again a i 1 matter of convenience merely, for use where the interior heel plug, hereinafter described, is intended to be constructed as a separate piece fromthe tongue heel. -Where the heel and plug are made in separate parts, as illus- 'i *trated, the difference in diameters shown permits the plug to be inserted as nearly home as may prove desirable before it engages with the surface into which it must be fitted tightly andinto which it is seated. There is, however, some advantage in this difference in diameters even where, this plug is intended to be cast integrally with the tongue heel as the fit of the heel pin upon the body pinis then'not so, tight within the first part of the movementduring insertion of the heel and the last part during removal of the heel. The structure as thus far described might therefore be summarized as providing a depending open-ended cylinder, or substantially cylindrical collar uponthe heel to fit into an annular channel between--' the body and pin, engaging laterally both inside and outside thereaga'mst through as large a bear ing and wearing surface as possible; The

structure as thus far described'is itself valuable. Its value is enhancedby the different other features ,of ..iny invention; 1 a i I. flange the tongue member about and abovethe heel, as at 23, to provide a surface 24-of greater diameter than the heel pin to rest upon the horizontal surface 25 of the bottom of thetongue bed, which, for con? venience, Iwill call a ledge, whether it be in the same planeas the bottom of the tongue bed or not. It afi'ords extended sup port against tilting and an additional horizontal wear surface. It also givesan air seal here, in conjunction with the oil hereinafter described and protects against the intrusion of foreign matter between the surfaces 9 and. 12.

The flange 23 bears against the substantially cylindrical sides of the switch bed, shown at 2.6 throughout about half a circumference to give lateral support about thls surface also. o a It is my purpose to utilize oil between the surfaces both as a lubricant and to secure an air seal and produce a partial vacuum as the heel is lifted. The. construction by which the oil is conveniently inserted so as to exclude the air and obtain the best advantage from the. oil by filling the interior as completely as possible with the oil, cooperates with another part of my invention designed to give additional bearing surface and have a centering effect.

l/Vithin the cylindrical heel pin I place a downwardly extending tapered plug 27. This is made as a separate piece from the pin merely for convenience in construction but the separate construction of theparts does not affect my invention. It is made a driving fit within the pin in the location shown. It is supported against vertical pressure by the ring 28 and is shown as tapered at 29 to cooperate with the tapered counterbore 30 upon the upper part ofthe recess 31 within the body pin. The under surface 32 of theplug flange and upper surface 83 of the body pin preferably do not meet, allowing for vertical movement at this point without wear and providing a space for oil reserve from which the oil will flow into the heel bearing under certain conditions. For example, if there be pressure at this point above that ofthe atmosphere, such as might be present if any air. were trapped in this space andcompressed, some oil will have a tendency to flow into the jointwhenever thesupply of oil in the adjacentpart of the joint is reduced for whati ever reason. There would also be affiow of this oil into the joint toclose the leak when ever air leaked through the joint from the outside. i

As the horizontal surfaces 13 and 24 upon and about the switch pin wearagainst the horizontal surfaces 14 and 25 of the body pin and body and the switch tongue, which has also worn meantime, settles very slightly in a vertical'direction withinthebody, the

tire cavity throughout this outer pool protections from tapered plug 27 settles down farther in the tapered openingand is effective to recenter the heel, securing greater uniformity in the wear of the engaging surfaces upon the heel and body.

In assembling my invention, I fill the en- 34 in the body pin with oil. I find that I get my best results with a fairly heavy oil which will not gum in cold weather. I have secured good results from the so-called black or well oil of commerce, mixed with kerosene.

As the switch pin is lowered or dropped to place, the air within it is largely expelled before any of the oil has been forced out of the "cavity inthe body pin by the plug 27. When this plug enters the counterbore of the recess 31 and overflow of oil begins, the oil is expelled with more or less force according to the speed of downward movement of the heel. It spreads out, fan-like, filling first the upper part and ultimately all of the steadily decreasing spacebetween the lowersurface 32 of the plug flange and the uppersurface33 of the body pin. This drives nearly all, if not all, of the remaining air out of this annular space and leaves it filled with oil when the parts come to rest. I may also put some oil initially in the lower part of the channel between the wall 9 of the body and the body pin. This will usually not be desirable because it tends to trap forced out by the entry of the heel pin and by oil. 1

The oil in the channel, whether placed there initially or overfiowed into it, will be forced upwardly outside of the heel pin, between the surfaces 24 and 25, forming an air seal and lubricant not only at this point but part also of the joint. The quantity of oil, wherever placed, may be made suflicient to fill any annular spaces such as 21 or 22, which the convenience of grinding or the desirability of such reserves has led the designer to provide. These annular oil pockets may be used to hold a greater oil reserve to make upany loss and keep the surfaces reliably air sealed and lubricated, or to so distribute reserve oil supply as to have a reserve close to each part of the joint and to supply one or a series of air leakage. Any other spaces may be left for oil reservoirs for the same purpose.

Obviously, the annular space 22 will be of little benefit as a pool for reserve oil where the flange 23 merges into a tongue having its lowersurface in the same plane with the flange or below it unless other means be taken to maintain the oil level in the space.

The downward movement of the heel within the body by reason of wear supplies additional oil to the parts from within by forcing oil out of the recess 31. Another feature of my invention provides so convenient and effective a method of maintaining the fluid level in the channel 22 that I have considered it unnecessary to illustrate any of the various other methods of so doing, which will occur to designers of switches.

In order to insure proper lubrication of the switchtongue and at the same time prevent intrusion of moisture and hardening of any dirt that settlesiwithin the switch bed,

with their attendant evils of freezing'and interference with the movement of. the switch tongue, I fill the tongue bed to an appreciable depth with oil, so that there shallalways be suiiicient oil to keep soft the dirt accumulated between intended cleaning intervals. To insure this it is better to plan for free fluid oil at all times in addition to such oil as maybe absorbed by the dirt accumulated. The depth of oil may readily be made suliicient to" fill the channel 22. as

i deeply as desired and keep any dirt in the ception of dirt and maintenance of .thedirt in soft condition and exclusion of moisture in mechanism subjected to street surface conditions. 7

In the black oil mixture which I use the proportion of kerosene to black oil varies according to the season, i. 6., with the temperature. In summer I use almost pure black oil and in the coldest weather supply asmuch as% oi kerosene.

When the. parts are in place there will be little, if any air below the level of the surfaces23, 2i, and the close fit of theparts, as well as the .length and reversed path of the tortuous passage provided, sealed by the intervening film oi oil greatly'retardair ingress as the switch tongue heel is withdrawn from the body. The resultis that almost the full atmospheric pressure over the heel is eflective to resist accidental lifting oif-the heel. V

, Stability against tilting-is given by the flange at the top of the'heel pin and the .1 bearing at its bottom as well as by the relatively high central bearing of the plug and the close fit provided for the entire heel pin externally and internally between the body and body plug;

It will be seen that I'provide two pairs of -faces, corresponding tothe'zdiameters or the outside of the heel andioi' the-flange, body pin and tapered pin,-to receive sidethrust and lateral wear, greatly stiffening against side strain and tilting and reducing the extent oi abrasion by wear. In order to provide for the withdrawal of thetongue'and heel, I provide preferably undercut apertures'35 inthe side of this member placed at 7' such a distance from the ends as that the weight of thetongue at the left of the aper-" tures in Fig. 2 shallbalancethe Weight of the tongue and heel to, theright thereof, plus the air pressure upon the heel made efiective' by the vacuum conditions within when the heel is being withdrawn ,1 and I supply a special' tool for engagingixthe" tongue within these depressions and lifting it. =This' tool comprises theiyoke 36, any suitable lifting mechanism, here shown as bolt 37 and nut 38 operated by lever arms 89,-and a link 40 to which the books 41 are pivoted .at. .42. The link is pivoted to the bolt at 43 :so as to adjust the pull to theposition of and strain uponthe tongue :The ends 44: of thehook are shown as undercut to correspond with the openings and the'total depth of each hook from its point to the edge 45. must not ion exceed the space available between the tongue and side of the tongue bed at this point when the tongue is thrown to the extreme opposite side from that at'which'the hookis being entered. The operationof this lifting mechanism will be obvious from the illustration in Fig. 5. i -v It will be evident thata part of the bone fit of my invention may be obtained by portionsof the construction of heel pin and cooperating body, without other parts thereof,

or by other constructions equivalent thereto,

in view of the disclosure herein; that my oil seal may be. used even. without distribution of the -oil initiallyi from-the interior: of the heel, to some advantageand with widely differentmechanical l-constructionsj that my" open pool or" oil-for prevention of concentra, tion and-hardeningoi" dirt in the tongue bed may be of advantage independently of the character of heel joint, 'even' without theoilseal; and that the open pool is of great advantage 1n maintaining; lubrication and oil seal within a heel joint of whatever charac ter.

of. the plugv 27 is thesame gas that ofthe gage side ofthe rail'head'. While this is'adn will be evident that an le a tape vantageous' as a' recognized safe angle or taper upon which wheel flanges will not mount and with which there will be no tendency to wedge the plug. upwardly because of side strain due to traflic conditions, its selection was guided also by the angle of upward and outward flow needed to secure a desirable distribution of oil 1 throughout the upper part of the space between surfaces 32 and 33 so that-the air should be reliably expelled ahead of the oil.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is V 1. In a device of 'thecharacter stated, a switch tongue and heel having a depending approximately cylindrical heel pin open at the bottom, in combination with a body having an approximately cylindrical annular Ehannel against whose side walls the pin 2. In a device of the character stated, a switch tongue andheel having a depending approximately cylindrical heel pin open at the bottom forming a reentrant surface, in

combination with a body having an approximately cylindrical annular channel against whose side walls the pin fits and oil between the parts.

3. In a device of the character stated, a switch tongue and heel having a depending, substantially cylindrical heel pin and a laterally extending flange at the top of the heel, in combination with a switch body having a horizontal ledge upon which the flange rests and an annular channel whose sides engage the substantially cylindrical heel.

t. In a device of the character stated, a switch tongue and heel, having a depending, substantially cylindrical heel pin and a laterally extending flange at the top of the heel, in combination with a switch body havinga horizontal ledge upon which the flange rests, an annular channelwhose sides engage those of the heel and oil between the adjoining surfaces of the heel and flange providing a seal between them and the body.

5..In a device of the character stated, a switch tongue, a depending heel thereon, a body within which the heel fits forming a joint therewith and oil filling the joint, there being an annularpocket in one of the parts above the bottom of the joint adapted to store oil and feed it to the joint, as required.

6. In a device of the character stated, a switch tongue, a depending heel thereon having in section a reentrant contour, in combination with a body fitting the contour of the heel and oil substantially filling the space betweenthe body and heel and sealing the abutting surfaces against air and moisture inlet. v

7. In a device of the character stated, a switch tongue, a depending heel thereon having a recessed lower end and, within the recess a relatively projecting portion, in combination with a switch body having a contour substantially fitting the contour of the heel, including a recess for the part, and oil within said recess spread by the projection.

8 In a device of the character stated, a switch tongue, having a depending hollow heel thereon, a switch body fitting the outer part of the heel and entering the hollow thereof and a tapered centering plug within the hollow, fitting within a recess in the body.

9. In a device of the character stated, a 3

switch tongue terminating in a flange, a hollow heel upon the tongue concentric with the flange and a body fitting the flange and exterior and interior of the hollow heel.

10. In a device of the character stated, a switch tongue having an annular flange, a hollow heel depending therefrom concentric with the flange, a body fitting the horizontal surface of said flange and the outer contour of the heel, a projection upon the body entering the hollow of the heel, and oil within the interior of the heel and above the level of said projection.

11. In a device of the character stated, a

switch tongue having a hollow depending a heel pin in combination with a switch body having an annular channel with whose walls the outside and inside walls of the pin are adapted to engage.

12. In a device of the character stated, a switch tongue and heel having at the heel a depending cylindrical pin and a concentric tapered plug thereimin combination with a body having an upwardly extending pin fit ting the interior of the cylinder of the heel pin and fitted to receive and guide the tapered plug.

13. In a device of the character stated, a tongue and heel having a depending substantially cylindrical pin open at the bottom and a flange at the top of the pin, in combination with a body having surfaces closely fitting the outer and inner cylindrical surfaces of the pin and the bottom of the flange and oil within the pin and between the surfaces.

14. In a device of the character stated, a switch tongue and heel having a flange about the upper heel surface and a tapered plug depending from the portion of the heel to which it is attached, in combination with a body having surfaces engaged by the under and lateral faces of said flange and fitting the taper of the plug.

15. In a device of the character stated, a tongue and heel having a depending substantially cylindrical hollow heel pin, a flange about the upper surface of the pin and a central depending tapered plug within the pin, in combination with a switch body having an upper, surface engaging the under projecting surface of the flange and the lateral surface of the flange, annularly channeledto receive the depending pin, engaging its inner and outer surfaces, and centrally fitted to receive and guide the tapered plug.

16. In a device of the character stated, a switch tongue and heel having at the heel thereof a depending hollow substantially cylindrical pin in combination with a switch body annularly channeled to receive and closely fit the outside and inside of the pin andoil between the'surfaces of the pin and body forming a substantially air tight joint Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the f Commissioner of Patents,

therebetween extending within the body of the pin. 1 J s I 17. In a device of the character stated, a switch body having a switch bed therein, a

tongue swinging in the bed, a depending heel 1 pin at the-heel of the tongueand oil within the heel pinrjoint andcovering the bed to an appreciable depth to form a fluid p001 therein. V JOHN GREENWALD HARTLEY. Witnesses: v

WVM. STEELL JACKSON, 7 J. LUTHERIA KAUT'FMAN.

7 Washington, D. G. 

